On August 1, 2014, the NGO “Chirikli” together with representatives of the Romani settlement were invited to a meeting at the Holosiivskyi District State Administration regarding the placement of a Romani settlement from Zakarpattia in the “Lysa Hora” microdistrict of the Holosiivskyi district in Kyiv.
The meeting was attended by the Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration M. Yu. Kostiuk, the Government Commissioner for Ethno-National Policy H. V. Druzenko, a representative of the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights S. Yu. Ponomarov, the Head of the Holosiivskyi Police Department of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Kyiv I. V. Morenets, heads of relevant structural units of the Holosiivskyi District State Administration, representatives of the Holosiivskyi District Committee “Lysa Hora,” the Renaissance International Foundation, public organizations, residents of the microdistrict, and representatives of the Romani community.
The representatives of the “Lysa Hora” District Committee were the first to speak at the meeting. According to them, it has become difficult to live in the microdistrict due to the arrival of Roma. For example, there are so many Roma that when they board public transport, there is no space left for others. They create discomfort. They also cited instances of Roma visiting the only small local store and buying most of the products, making it difficult for others to shop. They expressed concerns about the sanitary conditions and discomfort caused by the Roma’s presence. They shared that people are afraid to let their children play outside or go to playgrounds due to the possibility of Roma children discussing inappropriate topics. They suggested relocating the Roma from their microdistrict “back to where they came from.”
I was seated next to the representatives of the Romani settlement, and I can tell you that I haven’t heard such humiliation and openly discriminatory statements in many years. The feeling of degradation and discrimination experienced by the Romani representatives was indescribable. What surprised me the most was that such openly discriminatory statements were allowed during the administration meeting, coming from both the representatives of the “Lysa Hora” Committee, who simultaneously denied the problem being about ethnicity, and the representative of the Kyiv City Administration, who claimed to know about the “complex of negativity” associated with Roma.
The local police officer also spoke, mentioning that the criminal situation in the area hasn’t worsened; there hasn’t been a surge in crimes.
Proposals from the Renaissance International Foundation to resolve the conflict through non-aggressive means, avoiding forced evictions and advocating for systematic solutions like improvements and socialization, were met with criticism from some local officials. They argued that pro-European liberals supporting Roma were not the priority during a challenging time for the country.
A representative from the Kyiv City Administration suggested that in the future, preparations be made for seasonal arrivals of Roma, such as compiling lists of Roma willing to work and employing them for seasonal jobs.
As a result, a month was given to draw conclusions, demonstrate willingness to resolve the conflict, and consider systemic solutions for the future.
The next day, together with our Romani mediator, I visited the Romani settlement. We provided assistance to a sick young boy and had conversations with the Roma. It’s worth noting that the Roma had held meetings where they discussed the issue with local residents and made some decisions. To avoid conflicts with neighbors and live in peace, they planned to avoid public transport whenever possible, walk long distances to the nearest market and shops, and try to be as inconspicuous as possible. After most of the Roma leave, they plan to clean up the area, even using a tractor to level the terrain they had dug up.
For myself, I made two conclusions:
